On the Bears

Chicago Bears can win without controversial receivers

Sure, they can play, but will they be a drag

June 18, 2009|By David Haugh

Forget whether Plaxico Burress may get suspended for as many as eight games next season or if Brandon Marshall is even attainable for a Bears team that has too few high draft picks left to offer in a trade.

The essential question surrounding the pursuit of either game-breaking, trouble-making wide receiver Wednesday was answered unwittingly by coach Lovie Smith.

"We think we're a strong football team without adding anyone," Smith said at Halas Hall. "We feel like we can win with this group."

Indeed the Bears can -- the NFC North and, who knows, maybe even an ordinary NFC. In an off-season for the ages, they added a franchise quarterback and rebuilt the offensive line. Their defense full of veterans who underachieved the past two years just finished its hungriest off-season since before the 2006 Super Bowl run.

Was Jerry Angelo remiss in not adding a veteran wide receiver to help a pedestrian group? Nobody disputes that. Still, from this vantage point the Bears team that walked off the field Wednesday after its final organized team activity possesses more overall talent and depth than any since Smith arrived in 2004.

Admittedly, adding either Burress (a possibility) or Marshall (a long shot) likely would make the Bears instant NFC favorites and, in the bottom-line NFL, that's all that matters to some folks. But signing Marshall or Burress to a contract would come with more hidden fees than a rental-car agreement -- and still no insurance against a meltdown that could ruin a good season.

As expected, Marshall's past with Jay Cutler and Burress' tempting free-agent status made both prima donnas bigger topics than any player on the field.

"I played with him for three years and put up some big numbers with him, and wherever he ends up, I'm sure he's going to be successful," Cutler said of Marshall. "Whether or not it's here, it's up to the guys upstairs. As of right now, I'm 100 percent happy with what we have."

Asked how he would survive without a No. 1 wide receiver, Cutler offered a response that only will help establish his rapport in the locker room.

"We have one in Devin [Hester]," he said.

Regarding Burress, if Cutler chooses his receivers as well as he chose his words, the quarterback will be as good as advertised.

"If it happens, it happens," Cutler said. "I'm not going to speculate whether we're going to get him or not. The guys that we have right now, I'm 100 percent confident in and comfortable with."

Trying to pick which wide receiver the Bears would be better off pursuing between Marshall and Burress seems like trying to decide whether to pull for John Salley or Patti Blagojevich on the reality TV show "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here." The idea of supporting either choice can make one uneasy.

Compromising standards to add either Burress or Marshall to the roster would put the Bears in a position to count heavily on someone who can't be counted on based on his history.

Marshall has been involved in 13 police incidents since 2004, according to a report in the Denver Post. Besides the gaudy reception statistics of 206 receptions for 2,590 yards and 13 touchdowns the last two seasons, the other numbers on Marshall's resume that can't be ignored are 911. That's the phone number Marshall's girlfriend called to report Marshall attacking her, according to a chilling ESPN "Outside The Lines," report.

The Bears have been down that road before, a road that inevitably leads to another police station and, ultimately, an exit ramp out of Chicago. They would be better off having Marshall stay in Denver, rehabilitate his surgically repaired hip and his image, and seeing how much he has matured by next March when he is scheduled to be a free agent.

Or -- and this is the best-case scenario for the Bears to add a wide receiver -- hope the Broncos trade Marshall to the Browns as rumored and the Browns put Braylon Edwards back on the trade market. Edwards might not have the credentials of either Marshall or Burress, but he also doesn't worry his own coaching staff as much as he worries opposing coaching staffs.

Sure, a one-year, incentive-laden deal might motivate Burress to behave off the field and in the meeting room, which hasn't always been the case. But it bears repeating that if he receives an eight-game suspension from the commissioner, he couldn't play until Nov. 12 when the Bears might have figured out how to win without him. Then what happens if he doesn't get the ball enough and starts questioning Cutler or offensive coordinator Ron Turner?

There is little doubt Burress could help make the Bears record better. But can anybody guarantee he won't make his own criminal record worse during any stay in Chicago?

The Bears would be asking for trouble, and Burress has too big of a knack for answering.

"Plaxico Burress is a good football player, we all know that," Smith said. "We keep all of our options open. The door is never closed on anyone available. We've said that every time [but] it's not like we're aggressively going after him."

Smith insists the Bears don't need to be aggressive because they can win with the team he has now. How refreshing it would be to see him try to prove it.